After Another Fall from Grace, Does Michael Dyer Have a Future in Football?

Some players aren't made for college football. Louisville running back Michael Dyer fits that description.

That's not an indictment on Dyer. The NCAA system is such that it demands athletes take care of athletics and academics at the same time—or at least enough to get by. That's not for everyone, for one reason or another. The issue is that there's no alternative, no semi-pro league. 

Universities like Louisville and Dyer's former stop, Auburn, have the resources to make sure football players can at least be eligible; the rest, short of cheating, is up to the player himself.

According to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports, Dyer didn't hold up his end of the deal and has been ruled academically ineligible for the Belk Bowl against Georgia. 

The only thing that means is that Dyer's college days are officially over. His future in the pros? He still has a say in that. 

From the moment Dyer arrived at Auburn in 2010, his physical gifts were evident. The former No. 1 running back recruit—as listed by 247Sports—was built beyond his years and ready to shoulder a rushing load as a freshman. 

His impact was immediately felt for the Tigers. The play Dyer will be remembered for most was his game-changing 37-yard run against Oregon in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. With 2:13 remaining and the score tied at 19, Dyer appeared to be tackled but instead got up and ran to the 23-yard line. Three plays later, Auburn kicked the game-winning field goal. 

The moments of Dyer's college career since have been mostly negative. He was suspended by Auburn in December of 2011 for failing a drug test and left the program shortly thereafter. A brief stint at Arkansas State also ended when Dyer was dismissed from the team following a traffic stop in which he was caught going 96 mph in a 70 mph zone with marijuana and a gun in the car.

Another stop at Arkansas Baptist seemed to get Dyer on the right track before resuming his football career at Louisville under former coach Charlie Strong. 

"He's excited to have an opportunity to resume his career," Fitz Hill, the president of Arkansas Baptist and Dyer's mentor, told George Schroeder of USA Today in 2013. "Many people doubted that Michael would ever make this comeback, and it's here."

Strangely enough, given everything he's been through away from the field, the NFL might actually be the best thing for Dyer. The typical line of thought is that professional athletes have to act like professionals, but sometimes, the pros can actually force players into becoming professionals. 

For one, the NFL life is a football-first one. That's clearly Dyer's M.O. Secondly, whichever team does take a chance on Dyer will have a close eye on him. The kind of mentoring and monitoring Dyer will receive in the league might just be what he needs. 

And a team will take a chance on him whether in the draft or as an unsigned free agent. He's physically ready to go, and his mileage as a running back is low considering he spent four years playing college football. His 154 carries at Louisville over the past two seasons, for example, is half of what Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon had this year alone (309 carries). 

Yes, Dyer has red flags that may keep him from being drafted high, if at all, and could eventually be his downfall. Being ruled academically ineligible for his last college game is not among the more pressing ones. 

He'll get a shot somewhere. The question is whether Dyer can avoid any more problems in the future. Here's hoping that he can. 

It's easy to tear someone down for their mistakes, and Dyer has earned more than his fair share of criticism for his. But at the receiving end of each of those criticisms is a human being trying to, hopefully, improve his/her life. 

Dyer's life was not made for college, but that doesn't mean it can't be made for the next level. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football.